Rail-joint.



' Dyerslinrg, in the country of :Dyer and S 1 ends of the rails will'be se'ciirellgf und firmly will be formed to receive :i elisir plate meedee- GEORGE HARRIS, GF D'YEBISBBG, 'il'i'siT-INESSEE.

BAILJONR auf.,

Speeicaton of Leners Peen it.

To all fwiom 'it may ooneem Be it known that I, GEORGE l'liiizms, e citizen of the United States, resid ig MUG of Tennessee, have in vented certain ner,T useful Improvements in Rail Joints, or'

'which the following is e specification.

This inventionieontem'pletes en improved rail joint and lies as its primary object to provide a constructionwherein lie meeting connected and wherein the use r" fish plates well es. bolts or other similar fesening devices for joining the rail ends will be elimisii-ed, lie readily eonnecieil or disconneced, .Anil :i still further object of the invention is to provide :in improved )oint of tins elisr- :ier-er wherein the conctine' ends of the mils ending longitudinally lieiieuth'the joint'auid arranged to counteract any 'llendencjf of the cozirting' ends tile rails to shift relative te noli other under the Weight of :i leed.

Giner und ineideniul olijeers will appear :is the desrripliion proceeds and in me drew inve wherein ,l lieve ilinstrfited rire preerred eii'iliodiinent of ille invention -1 e "il rein siniiler referenee eli-roeiers rlesigne ecrrespondinf A parte ilxrccglicn the -views, l' igure l is fra;

ide eleve.`

'ion showing the coaching ends oL :i pair. of rails provided with my nnpreved geintand ilinstru'ring the manner 1n which, @lie chair plate employed is arranged io extend beezilr ehe lnee'inv rern'nnuls che oase Menges of the rails, 2 is a fragmentary 'perspective View showing 'the n'ieewng ends or' the rails and more particularly illustrating'tlie construction ci hegoint, and Fig. 3

'is e liorizonl'ul sectional View sliiiwingtlie depend longiiudinsilly spaced substantially doveteil looking; members 14reach provided with op'posiely disposed4 lu'teriil shoulders 15, Tire wel; ll ut vlie inner extremity of lire m'ei'lizinging k-eriiiiml 13, is provided with :in 'enlarged or portion 1G vfliieli :for-med upon oppositesides thereof willi lcngitudimilly extending grooves l? sloping :may froxntl'ie upper edge olf' rlie bese ,lange l?. The rail B also includes :i rezid lS, o, wel) 1,9, and a -base ienge 2Gx A5 ille adjacent extremity of lie rail t, the treni i8 thereof is out away While the orniec ii iii :i laterally thickened v providing a terminal. extending l-rinfrirudir-iily beyond the contiguous end ol 'plie er l' ai snlistzinlizilly equal 1n .length lo the le ininzil 13 of die lruil A, tire termina-l 21 being' formed 'with o der, upper face to receive the 'lf-eroine! The thickened portion 21 is provided 'with longitudil :e "e ail sockets Q2 :idapied to i'norelily receive the vlocking members 14 the owerlriigir erxninel 13 of ,the rail sn'd sockets is provid disposed lateral shoulders iioorete o i'li *die shoulders s Formed in ed portion i .5 :i illy extending grooves zilsnlie-i y videnlicffil with the grooves l? o; lie ruil A und' adopted to register therewith, 'the grooves sloping away from. l'lie upper edges of the liaise flange 20 of lle rail.

in l :indi of iii@ drawings, I have slimvn ille manner in which the adjacent ends of izhe rails are adapted to 'coact for connecting 'die rails. The locking members ifi of the rail A are received within 'the sockets or" the rail B with the overhanglurented Sept., i9, if

laterally thickened f of the overhenging ter' ing terminal 13 of the rail A seating Hat-ly against ille upper face of t-lie thickened terminal 21 of the ruil E. li', will be noted that` the sockets 22 ere of suclrldiniensions 'as te permit alie locking members 14 tokshiftfrom ,side to side Within die seidv sockets to 'thus Sil f ,i'nfi eiisi'te 'for an y expansion or contraction ol'v the rails brought about by climatic conditions. Norniallff, the locking members ll will engage within the sockets 22 as best ders l5 thereof' with the correspondingshculders 23 of the said sockets shown idle in Fig. 3, so that a secure connection between the rail ends will be insured.. By manually shifting the rail ends rela-tive to each other to such position that the locking members 1l will be disposed medially ot' the sockets the coacting ends of the rails may be easilyy disconnected since the locking niembers'inay then be withdrawn from the said sockets. i Arranged beneath the base flanges of the rails at the junction thereof, is a chair plate "25 which is provided with coacting inwardly curved iianges 26 embracing' opposite edges of the base flanges of the rails to fit snugly within the registering grooves 17 and Q24; thereof and thus engage the rail ends upon opposite sides, more particularly shown in F i g. It will be noted that the chair plate f2.5 will provide a rigid support tor the meeting ends of the ianges i2 and i2() of the rails acting to overcome any tendency ot the rails to shift vertically relative to each other at the coacting ends thereof while the flanges 24,3 in abutting opposite sides of the rail ends, will act to overcome any tendency ot the coacting extremities of the rails to shift laten.

ally relative to each other. Furthermore, these iianges 26 Will also tend to prevent spreading of the rails of a track at 'the joints between each of the rails. it will therefore be seen that the chair plate 25 will eifectnally o'iperate with the locking members lll and the sockets 22 of the rail. ends to provide a secure and irin connection between the rails.

The joint simple in `construction and it will he noted that the use of lish plates as.

well as other fastening devices ifo-r connecting the rail ends, is eliminated.

Having thus described my invention, what ll' el :1i i and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. in a device ot the character described, enacting rail ends, one pro 'iiled with an f verhanging tread portion having coacting ineinbers depeinlin from and web thickened at inner er:-n

neef/ee treniity ot said overhanging tread portion, there being grooves formed in the thiclmned portion of the web upon opposite sidesthere of, and the other rail end having its head cut away and provided with a thicln-ined web portion having coacting sockets formed therein to receive the enacting. locking .ineinbers of the overhanging tread portion ot said first mentioned rail end with the overhanging tread portion seating upon the thickened portion of the said second inentioned rail end, the said thickened portion ot the second mentioned rail end having grooves formed in opposite sides thereof adapted to register with said first mentioned grooves, and a. chair plate engaging beneath the meeting ends of the rail flanges and provided with flanges engaging in said grooves.

2. In a device of the character described, coacting rail ends, one. having its tread portion cut away and provided in its web portion with a socket having a lateral bearing shoulder formed in a. Wall thereof and the other being provided with an overhanging tread portion adapted to seat in the cut away portion ol said first mentioned rail end and provided with a locking member receivable in said socket and formed with a lateral bearing shoulder, the said locking ineinl being shittable Within the said socket to active position connecting` the rail ends with the shoulder of the locking member en gaging the shoulder in the wall of: the socket. i

3. In av device of the character described, coacting ail ends, one having an overhangfing tread portion provided with a dovetailed locking member having' u.. lateral bearing shoulder and the other having its tread portion cut away to receive the tread p tion oi said first mentioned rail end and provided in its web portion with a recess adapted to receive said locking member to coact therewith, there being a bearing shoulder foi-ined in ay wall of said recess and the said locking member being shiftahle to vactive position within the said recess connecting the said rail ends with the shoulder of the locking member engaging the shoulder in the said recess Wall.

e. ln a. device of the character described, coacting rail ends, one having the tread portion thereof cut away and provided in its web portion with a dove-tailed socket and the other provided with an overhangir tread portion adapted to seat within the cut away portion of the said iirst mentioned rail cnil and provided with a` dove-tailed locking member receivable within the said socket and shittahle therein to active posi tion connecting the said rail ends.

In a. device of the character described coacting rail ends, one having an overhang- CAR member and-the other having 'its tread porsaid rail ends and provided vWith ianges-enlflo tion eut away to receive the overhenging 'gaging in seid grooves. i i rportion of said first mentioned rail end in In testimony whereof I afx my signture' overlapping relation and provided With a 1 his .l recess adapted to receive said locking mem- A GEORGEv X HAR'RSv` ber to coaot therewith, the Webs of said rail mark i ends being provided Ywith grooves upon Witnesses: opposite sides thereof, and eV chair plate J. M. BRAIDIN,

associated with the meeting terminals of EARL JOHNSON. 

